Ground-Water Hydrology of Ogden Valley and Surrounding Area, Eastern Weber County, Utah, and Simulation of Ground-Water Flow in the Valley-Fill Aquifer System
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STATE OF UTAH DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES Technical Publication No. 99 GROUND-WATER HYDROLOGY OF OGDEN VALLEY AND SURROUNDING AREA, EASTERN WEBER COUNTY, UTAH, AND SIMULATION OF GROUND-WATER FLOW IN THE VALLEY-FILL AQUIFER SYSTEM By Charles Avery U.S. Geological Survey Prepared by the United States Geological Survey in cooperation with the Utah Department of Natural Resources Division of Water Rights 1994 CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 2 Purpose and scope 3 Methods of investigation........................................................................................................................ 3 Previous studies 3 Hydrologic-data site numbering system 4 Acknowledgments 4 Description of study area.................................................................................................................................. 4 Physiography........................................................................................... 4 Climate 4 Population, land use, and water supplies.. 6 Hydrogeologic setting 7 Stratigraphy and hydrogeologic units 7 Structure 7 Surface-water hydrology 14 Streams 14 Reservoirs 14 Irrigation and other diversions 20 Water quality 21 Ground-water hydrology of consolidated rocks surrounding Ogden Valley..................................................... 21 Recharge 21 Discharge '" 25 Ground-water hydrology of valley-fill deposits in Ogden Valley.................................................................... 27 Recharge '" 27 Movement. 37 Hydraulic characteristics. 37 Storage. 42 Discharge . 42 Effects of Pineview Reservoir 51 Water quality 51 Water budget for the valley-fill aquifer system................................................................................................. 53 Recharge '" 53 Precipitation 53 Irrigation and irrigation distribution losses 53 Losing streams 57 Pineview Reservoir. 59 Subsurface inflow 59 Discharge 60 Gaining streams 60 Springs and drains....................................................... 61 Wells. 61 Evapotranspiration. 61 Pineview Reservoir 63 Subsurface outflow...... 63 Simulation of ground-water flow in the valley-fill aquifer system 63 Model design and assumptions............ 63 Model boundary conditions 65 iii CONTENTS-Continued Streams 65 Drains 67 Wells 67 Evapotranspiration 67 Areal recharge 67 Hydraulic properties 67 Hydraulic conductivity 67 Storage coefficient............................................................................................................. 68 Vertical hydraulic conductivity 68 Initial conditions........................................................................................................................... 68 Model calibration and simulation 71 Steady-state calibration................................................................................................................ 71 Water levels........................ 71 Gains and losses in streams and drains............................... 71 Water budget 73 Transient simulation..................................................................................................................... 73 Water-level changes 73 Spring Creek drainage 74 Water budget 74 Simulation of hypothetical conditions 75 Drought......................................................................................................................................... 79 Increased discharge from wells 79 Need for further refinement of the computer simulation.................. 81 Summary and conclusions................................................................................................................................. 81 References cited................................................................................................................................................ 82 PLATES [Plates are in pocket] 1. Map showing geology, precipitation, and selected hydrologic-data sites in Ogden Valley, Utah, and surrounding area 2. Map showing hydrologic-data sites and ground-water quality in Ogden Valley, Utah, 1985 FIGURES 1. Map showing location of the study area 2 2. Diagram showing numbering system used in Utah for hydrologic-data sites. 5 3. Photograph of the Wasatch Range on west side of Ogden Valley near Liberty, Utah 6 4. Photograph of Pineview Reservoir (looking north along the North Fork Ogden River arm of the reservoir) 7 5. Map showing thickness of valley-fill deposits 13 6. Map showing location of sites in Spring Creek drainage where discharge was measured monthly.. 16 7. Hydrograph showing daily mean discharge at Spring Creek at Huntsville (station 10137900), September 1985 through April 1987.... 17 8. Composite hydrograph of discharge determined from monthly measurements at seven sites iII the Spring Creek drainage, November 1984 through June 1986 18 iv FIGURES-Continued 9. Hydrographs of daily mean discharge at the South Fork Ogden River near Huntsville (station 10137500) and at Wheeler Creek near Huntsville (station 10139300), July 1984 through September 1986 19 10. Photograph of Liberty Springs at Liberty, Utah (looking east from hillside on Wasatch Range toward Bear River Range) 27 II. Map showing potentiometric surface of the principal aquifer, June 1985 38 12-19. Hydrographs showing: 12. Water level in wells in the upper South Fork Ogden River valley, 1984-86 39 13. Water level in wells near the Ogden well field and Pineview Reservoir, and stage of Pineview Reservoir, 1984-86 40 14. Water level in wells in the principal aquifer near Pineview Reservoir, 1935-61 43 15. Water level in wells in the principal aquifer near Pineview Reservoir, 1932-84 44 16. Water level in wells in the principal aquifer and stage of Pineview Reservoir, 1984-86 45 17. Water level in wells in the upper South Fork Ogden River valley, 1984-86 46 18. Water level in wells in the North Fork Ogden River valley, 1984-86 47 19. Water level in wells near the North Fork Ogden River channel, 1984-86 48 20. Map showing water-level rise in the principal aquifer from late February to early June 1985 49 21. Hydrographs showing water level in wells in the shallow water-table aquifer, 1970-71 50 22. Graphs showing Ogden well-field pumpage, water level in well (A-6-2)18bad-l, and stage of Pineview Reservoir, July 1984 through July 1986 62 23. Schematic section of the two-layer ground-water flow model simulating the aquifer system in Ogden Valley 64 24-26. Maps showing: 24. Model grid, areal distribution of active cells, and boundary steady-state recharge and discharge for the model of the ground-water system in Ogden Valley........................................ 66 25. Distribution of hydraulic-conductivity values for layer 2 (principal aquif~r) of computer model for Ogden Valley............................................ 69 26. Distribution of hydraulic-conductivity values for layer 1 (shallow water-table aquifer) of computer model for Ogden Valley............. 70 27. Graphs showing simulated and measured water-level change for three observation wells in the upper North Fork Ogden River valley, 1985-86 76 28. Graphs showing simulated and measured water-level change for three observation wells in the south part of Ogden Valley, 1985-86 77 29. Map showing simulated water-level change in the principal aquifer, mid-February through May 1985 78 30. Graphs showing water-level change in wells for 1985-86 simulation and for drought simulation 80 TABLES I. Description of hydrogeologic units..................................................................................................... 8 2. Streamflow characteristics at selected gaging stations 15 3. Mean monthly and mean annual discharge for selected gaging stations 15 4. Miscellaneous measurements of streamflow, specific conductance, and water temperature during base flow in Ogden Valley, February 23 to March I, 1985 22 5. Miscellaneous measurements of streamflow, specific conductance, and water temperature during base flow, upper Middle Fork Ogden River, October 1984, and Wheeler Creek, October 1985 24 6. Records of springs...................................... 28 v TABLES-Continued 7. Records of wells.................................................................................................................................. 30 8. Chemical analyses of water samples from wells 54 9. Chemical analyses of water samples from springs 56 10. Water budget for the valley-fill aquifer system, mid-February 1985 through January 1986 58 11. Water level in selected observation wells during February and June 1985 and May 1986 72 12. Simulated water budget for the valley-fill aquifer system, mid-February 1985 through January 1986 74 13. Simulated and measured discharge to Spring Creek........................................................................... 79 CONVERSION FACTORS, VERTICAL DATUM, AND ABBREVIATED WATER-QUALITY UNITS Multiply By To obtain acre 4,047 square meter 0.004047 square kilometer acre-foot 1,233 cubic meter cubic foot per second 0.02832 cubic meter per second 28.32 liter per second foot 0.3048 meter foot per day 0.3048 meter per day foot squared per day 0.0929 meter squared per day gallon 3.785 liter gallon per minute 0.06308 liter per second inch 25.4 millimeter 2.54 centimeter mile 1.609 kilometer square mile 2.590 square kilometer Water temperature is given in degrees Celsius (0C), which can be converted to degrees Fahrenheit (oF) by the following equation: OF = 1.8 (0e) + 32. Air temperature is given in degrees Fahrenheit (OF), which can be converted to degrees Celsius (oC) by the following equation: °C